WARNING: This is not a food blog. Though you can probably find a picture of a sandwich or something if you look hard enough.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

More creative genius uncovered in the family basement

Why am I the one in my family who chose to write when my brother so obviously should be carrying that torch himself? I previously subjected readers to "The Witch and the Prince," an original piece of short fiction written by my brother at age seven (circa 1988, but it is essentially timeless), which I found in a box of our old things my parents meant to throw out but kept forgetting to put out on garbage day. Last time I was home I uncovered "Aliens," printed on that old accordion-style computer paper. "Aliens" reflects a more mature, socially-responsible writer. It is a story of space travel and extra terrestrials, but it is also grounded in reality; it echoes the futility man sometimes feels against unfamiliar forces. It also depicts the strength of the US defense force (kinda). (I find the parentheticals to be most helpful.) Reproduced here:

ALIENS

The countdown started. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, BLAST OFF! The shuttle rose into the sky, then into space, but when in space it got stuck. Jon and I tried to get it back into orbit but we couldn't. We asked Keith if there were any meteors in the area. The answer was YES but it was a UFO!

We tried radioing for help but it didn't work. We could only talk to it (the UFO). So we asked if they wanted peace, but they wanted to kill us! Then in the distance we saw another UFO. We tried radioing it (the UFO), it worked. It wanted peace, and it killed the other ship and brought it back to Earth. On Earth we had a celebration for them (aliens).

But the aliens in the other ship hadn't died. They started to attack Earth. But this time the other aliens weren't there to help us so we called the AIR FORCE and the NAVY and the MARINES and the ARMY and they barely killed them and since then they (aliens) haven't attacked.

Ultimately, it is a story of survival, just barely. Sure, it could stand a little character development. Who is Keith? Who is Jon? Which one is more attractive and what do they typically have for lunch? Fortunately, I know the answers to all of these questions because they are clearly my brother's childhood friends.